Comprehensive care for young pregnant teenagers

1. Since the month of January 2023, 150 students from the grades six, seventh and eighth, from disadvantages communities from Baruta, state of Miranda, Venezuela have participated in a formation program aimed to acquire knowledge and tools to prevent pregnancies and other risk behaviors in adolescents and to achieve a healthy, productive, and fulfilled life.

They received training in the following topics:  Self-esteem, life project, values, affectivity, sexuality, life skills, living without violence. These tools will help them make free and responsible decisions, as well as avoid early pregnancies and community violence.

2. At the same time in the Salud y Familia Community Center, twenty young pregnant and very poor mothers, from 14 to 19 years, are receiving care for medical control of pregnancy, nutritional support, provision of medicines and psychosocial guidance to protect and empower their lives and the life of their babies. They come to Salud y Familia since the third or fourth month of pregnancy, and already four of them have given birth to their babies.

Young mothers are participating in training workshops on issues about pregnancy care and childbirth, breastfeeding, childcare, affectivity and sexuality, family relations. Some of the fathers also come to the workshops.

3. Forty-two young mothers are learning trades like pastry, manicure, and hairdressing and entrepreneurial tools, tohelp them improve their living conditions and encourage attitudes of personal and family development to better their livelihoods and meet their many needs.

Each course is for thirty-two hours, and many of the girls are already putting into practice what they learn and generating small incomes.

With these practices the health of the mother and the baby is protected, training for life and encouraging the personal and family improvement of these young mothers who are highly neglected and lack education and incentives to overcome their life situations.

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• Comprehensive care for young pregnant teenagers